April 30 Minor League Report

Buffalo Bisons (17-7)

The Buffalo Bisons scored some important insurance runs in the top of the ninth inning to make sure they left Rochester with a 5-2 win over the Red Wings in a Tuesday morning game. Getting a home run and three singles from catcher Josh Thole, the Bisons won their seventeenth game in April with a strong pitching performance from starter Dave Bush. Luis Jiminez and Ryan Goins also had two hits apiece and Goins used some baserunning magic to help manufacture an extra run in the ninth by stealing a base and then getting the Rochester pitcher to commit a balk.

Hitting:

Mike McCoy  – 1/4, 3 K
Anthony Gose – 0/4, RBI
Moises Sierra – 1/5, 2 K
Luis Jimenez – 2/4, R
Mauro Gomez – 1/4, SB
Andy LaRoche – 0/4, 2 K
Josh Thole – 4/4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI
Lance Zawadzki – 1/4, R, K
Ryan Goins – 2/4, R, RBI, K, SB

Pitching:

Dave Bush – W, 6 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 5 K, 1 HR
Ramon Ortiz – 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB
Neil Wagner – S, 1/3 IP, 1 H

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Josh Thole

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (11-15)

Game 1

The Fisher Cats dropped both halves of a double header to the Trenton Thunder, the Yankees’ Double-A affiliate. Ryan Tepera got roughed up in Game 1, with the Fisher Cats losing 6-4 despite getting home runs from Ricardo Nanita, Kevin Pillar and Clint Robinson.  John Tolisano’s woes in the field continue as he made three errors in Game 1 alone (to go along with the one he made in Game 2).

Hitting:

Kevin Pillar – 1/4, R, HR, RBI, K
Ricardo Nanita – 3/3, R, HR, 2 RBI
Ryan Schimpf – 1/3, 2 K
Brad Glenn – 1/3
Clint Robinson – 1/3, R, HR, RBI, K
Kevin Nolan – 0/3
Adam Loewen – 0/2, BB, K
Jack Murphy – 1/3, 2B
John Tolisano – 1/3, R, 3 E

Pitching:

Ryan Tepera – L, 4 IP, 4 H, 5 R (4 ER), 4 BB, 5 K
Matt Wright – 1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K
Trystan Magnuson – 1/3 IP

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Ricardo Nanita

Game 2

Game 2 featured much better pitching, especially from starter Austin Bibens-Dirkx who went four innings giving up an unearned run. This game required extra innings for the Thunder to take a 2-1 win and Trenton ended up scoring the winning run in the bottom of the eighth with three consecutive hits off of the Fisher Cats’ fourth pitcher of the game, Trystan Magnuson. The Fisher Cats only managed to get four hits in the game with Kevin Pillar having two and a walk.

Hitting:

Kevin Pillar – 2/3, R, BB, SB, PO
John Tolisano – 0/3, BB, K, E
Ryan Schimpf –0/2, 2 BB
Clint Robinson – 1/4
Ricardo Nanita – 0/3, BB
Sean Ochinko – 0/2, BB
Adam Loewen – 1/3, 2 K, E
Kevin Ahrens – 0/2, K
Amadeo Zazueta – 0/3

Pitching:

Austin Bibens-Dirkx – 4 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 4 K
Chorye Spoone – 1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K
Chad Beck – 2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K
Trystan Magnuson – L, 0 IP, 3 H, 1 R

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Kevin Pillar

Dunedin Blue Jays (15-10)

The Dunedin Blue Jays played another long extra-innings game before scoring in the top of the thirteenth inning. Reliever Blake McFarland registered his first blown save of the season, giving up two runs on three hits and losing the game 5-4 to the Jupiter Hammerheads. With former Blue Jays farm-hands Adeiny Hechavarria and Jake Marisnick in the  lineup, the D-Jays got out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning thanks to hits by Jason Leblebijian, Nick Baligod, Jon Berti and Peter Mooney. Jupiter struck back to score three in the seventh to tie.

With the loss, the Jays squandered a strong start from Jesse Hernandez and excellent relief work from Dustin Antolin and Marco Grifantini. Having two-hit nights were Jon Berti, Peter Mooney, K.C. Hobson and Matt Newman.

Hitting:

Jon Berti –2/6, 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 K
Peter Mooney – 2/6, RBI
Andy Burns – 1/4, RBI, BB, SB
Marcus Knecht – 0/6, 2 K, E
K.C. Hobson – 2/5, 2B, K
Pierce Rankin – 0/5, 3 K
Matt Newman – 2/4, BB, CS
Jason Leblebijian – 1/5, R, K
Nick Baligod – 1/5, R, K

Pitching:

Jesse Hernandez – 5 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 3 K
Tony Davis – 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 R, K
Scott Gracey – 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R
Dustin Antolin – 3 IP, 2 H, 2 K
Marco Grifantini – 2 IP, 2 BB
Blake McFarland – L, 1/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Jon Berti

Lansing Lugnuts (7-15)

The Lansing Lugnuts tried to stage a comeback against the powerhouse Cedar Rapids Kernels but still fell 5-4. While starter Roberto Osuna’s line of three hits, four runs (three earned) and two home runs over four innings can be seen as poor, there are indications that he just made a couple of poor pitches and paid the price. His other stats – five strikeouts to only one walk – indicate that when he was making his pitches, he was difficult to hit. The Lansing batters took advantage two Cedar Rapids errors to score their four runs but despite giving up ten hits (none for extra-bases), the Kernels pitchers were very effective at limiting the damage. Christian Lopes, Chris Hawkins and Shane Optiz each had two hits in the loss.

Hitting:

Dalton Pompey  – 1/5, RBI, K
Jorge Flores – 0/5, E
Christian Lopes – 2/5
Carlos Ramirez – 1/4
Chris Hawkins – 2/4, R, K, E
Gustavo Pierre – 0/4, K
Shane Opitz – 2/3, 2 R, BB
Aaron Munoz – 1/2, R, RBI, BB, PB
Kellen Sweeney – 1/3, BB

Pitching:

Roberto Osuna – 4 IP, 3 H, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 5 K, 2 HR
Arik Sikula – 2 IP, BB, K
Ian Kadish – 1 IP, 2 K
Tucker Donahue – 1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 K

Jay Blue’s Player of the Game: Shane Opitz

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